What is the Holy Year of Mercy?
The Holy Year of Mercy is an invitation made by Pope Francis to us all to contemplate the mystery of mercy and undertake a pilgrimage of transformation. Thomas Aquinas described mercy as a “heartfelt sympathy for another’s distress”. The Holy Year is a time for compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation.
At the beginning of the Jubilee, Pope Francis said, “The Jubilee is a favourable time for all of us, because by contemplating Divine Mercy, which overcomes all human limitations and shines in the darkness of sin, we are able to become more certain and effective witnesses.”
The Jubilee Year begins on December 8, 2015 (the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and concludes on November 20, 2016 (the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe).
Caritas Serbia packing food, hygiene and baby kits for refugees in Presavo. By Meabh Smith/Trocaire/Caritas
What are we expected to do during the Holy Year?
Pope Francis has called for a true conversion of our hearts during the Holy Year. In his Bull of Indiction for the Holy Year, he says we can make mercy visible in our intentions, attitudes and behaviour in daily life. There are seven corporal works of mercy: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead; and seven spiritual works of mercy: counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offences, bear wrongs patiently, pray for the living and the dead which are ways in which individuals and the Church practice mercy.
Doors of mercy
Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of Mercy in St Peter’s basilica on 8th December to inaugurate the Holy Year of Mercy. He opened the Holy Door of Charity at Caritas Rome’s homeless hostel on 18th December. Pope Francis is encouraging the faithful to walk through the doors of mercy this year which can be found all over the world. Opening the Holy Door offers an “extraordinary path” toward salvation during the time of Jubilee.
What is Caritas’ relationship with the Holy Year of Mercy?
The mission of Caritas is rooted in Gospel teaching. The parable of the Good Samaritan, which depicts how a stranger helps an injured man with love and without prejudice, is a good example of what inspires Caritas in its mission. Many Caritas organisations around the world are using the Jubilee of Mercy to reflect how to deepen their bonds with God and others and how to fully live out their mission by serving the poor. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy provide a blueprint of how to do this.